Grinding machine



March 7, 11933. J- HQERN 1,900,112

GRINDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 51, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR 72 J1. J-loe 7n...

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ATTORNEY March 7, 1933. J. H. HOERN GRINDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 51, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Jaggph J-f. Jfoern.

BY/WMW ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 7, 1933 UNIITED'FSVTAI'TYEVS PATENT OFFICE JOSEPH II. HQERN, or s GmAw, MIcHIGAN, AssIenoaro WILCOX-RICH QORPORA- TION, A CORPORATION or MICHIGAN ennvnme MACHINE I Application filed August -31, 1929. Serial no. 389,662.

This invention relates toflmachines for grinding the'outside diameter of the head of headed articles such as poppet valves for internal combustion engines, and'what is known as the mushroom type of valve tappet, and other articles of similar nature. I I

One object of the invention is to'provide a machine for manipulating the work relative to the grinding element which is so far automatic in its operation as to eliminate the necessity for human attendance except in merely placing the work in the machine.

Another object of the inventionis to provide sucha machine in combination with-a rotatable grinding element, arranged to manipulate the work relative to the grinding element in such amanner that the grinding element is dressed by the work itself, thereby eliminating all separate dressing operations. Another object of the invention is to provide novel means for supporting the work and for centering the same for-rotation about its own axis during the grinding operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple and effective means for holding cylindrical articles for rotation about their own axes without the use of centers. 3

With these and other objects in View, my invention consists in the arrangement, combination and construction of the various parts of my improved device, as described in the specification, claimed in my claims, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in .which,- v

Fig. 1 is a vertical central sectional view of the machine with the grinding element shown inposition relative thereto. v Fig. 2 is a view taken on the line-'2-'2 of Fig.1. 3 n Fig. 3 is a view taken-on line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a half sectional view taken on line 4-iofFig.1. Fig. 5 is a view taken on line 5-5of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a sectional view of thegrinding 45 element.

Fig. 7 is an elevational view ofa valve=tap pet of the mushroom type. The specific machine disclosed in the drawings and about to be described is designed for grinding the outside diameter of the heads of mushroom type valve tappets. It is to be understood that the machine can bereadily adapted for handling articles other than valve tappets and that I claim all uses to which it may be'put.

In general my machine comprises a vertical rotatable shaft, a hollow turret element designed and mounted to be revolved about the shaft, a plurality of vertically posi tioned spindles mounted in the peripheral portion of the turret and which are adapted to be rotated during the revolution of the turret about the shaft, the lower ends of said spindles being designed to engage and rotate the'work about its own axis, suitable work supporting means attached to the lower'portion of the turret and adapted to revolve therewith to support the work relative to said spindles, and means for raising and loweringthe spindles to permit theinsertion and removal of the work pieces. A grinding wheel having a transversely radiused grinding face is positioned to rotate in the plane of the vertical shaft and to engage the outside diameter of the heads of the work pieces. The turret is geared to. revolve about the shaft and to pass the rotating work transversely across theperiphery of the grinding Wheel. The spindles within the turret are adapted to rotate the work pieces on their supports at a greater rate of speed than the speed at which the turret revolves about the shaft.

The valve tappets which are ground by this machine are shown in Fig. 1 and comprise a cylindrical'shank portion '5 and a head portion 6. In machining the tappet it is necessary to grind to size and to finish the outside diameter of the head.

The machine comprises a base casting 10 in which is journalled' the end of a vertical shaft 11.- Keyed to the lower end of the shaft is a worm gear 12 which is engaged by a worm '13 (Fig. 5) driven by any suitable source of power. Positioned about the shaft his a non-rotatable sleeve 14 provided with a lat eral flange 15 at its lower end which is secured by bolts 16 to the upper edge of the base casting 10 and above the worm gear 12. Rotatably mounted'upon the shaft 11 is a bell-shaped turret which is provided with a removable top 21 having a bearing 22 formed at its central portion for receiving the end of the shaft 11. Rotatably mounted upon the lower portion of the sleeve 14 is a second sleeve 23 supported upon ball bearings 24. Secured to the sleeve 23 for rotation therewith is a third sleeve 25 which has an upwardly extending outwardly offset flange 26 upon which the lower end of the turret 20 is mounted and secured by bolts 27. The lower portion of the sleeve 23 is provided with an outwardly extending flange 28 which supports work seats 29. The lower portion of the sleeve 25 is provided with an outwardly extending flange 30, and between the flange 30 and the flange 28 are positioned and clamped work steady rests 31, which will hereinafter be described. r

The work seats 29 comprise shouldered studs having fiat bearing faces-on one end upon which the face of the tappet rests as shown in Fig. 1. The steady rests 81 comprise blocks having V-shaped openingsin their outwardly presented ends as-shown in r Fig. 4. Their opposite ends are provided with set screws 38, by means of which the degree of their projection may be adjusted. They are secured in position by means of the pointed screws 32 which are threaded in apertures in the flange 30 with their pointed ends projecting into I the transverse openings 34 in the steadyrests 31. The V-shaped portions of the steadyrests 31 form a bearing for the shank portions 5 of the tappet as shown to the left in Fig. 1. V

In the upper portion of the turret .20 and just beneath the point at which the top is secured thereto is positioned a ring member which rests upon an inwardly offset shoulder 41 formed in the turret. This ring member is secured therein by means'of bolts 42 which extend through the side of the turret. The inner periphery'of the ring member 40'is provided with gear teeth 43 as shown. in Figs.

1 and 2 which are engaged by a pinion 44 mounted upon a bracket 45secured to the upper end of the sleeve 14. The shaft 11 is provided with teeth 46 above the bracket 45 which mesh with the teeth of the pinion 44 Thus the rotation of the shaft 11 drives the turret 20 through the agency of the pinion 44 and the ring 40.

Secured at spaced intervals in the ring 40 are bushings 49 in which are rotatably mounted the upper ends of thespindles designated generally by the numeral 50. These spindles each comprise a shank portion 51, the upper end of which is slidably secured in the sleeve 52, which is rotatably mounted in the bushing 49. Keyed to the upper end of the sleeve 52 is a collar 53 which is supported upon a shoulder formed by counter-boring the bushing 49. The upper end of the sleeve 52 is formed with gear teeth 54 which mesh with the teeth of a gear 55 secured to the upper end of the shaft 11. The spindle shank 51 is held for rotation with the sleeve 52 by means of a cross pin 56 which works in slots 57 in the sleeve 52.

Secured in the lower peripheral portion of theturret 20 is a sleeve 58 in which-is slidablysecured a sleeve 59, and secured in the upper portion of the sleeve 59 is a bushing 60 which has a lateral flange 61 formed on its upper end. The spindle shank 51 extends through the bushing 60 and is free to rotate therein. Positioned around the bushing Y60 and between the flange 61 and the upper edge. of thesleeve 59 is the upper end of the roller bracket 62. The roller bracket extends inwardly and downwardly and to its lower end is secured a roller 63 which rides upon the cam flangeB'F of the camsleeve 36 which is secured to thenonrotatable'sleeve Men the shaft 11 Secured to the spindle shank 51 within the sleeve-59 andbelow the bushing 60 is a sleeve member 164 which rotates with the spindle-shank,

and between Itheupper ends of the sleeve 64 and the lower end of the bushing. 60 are positioned ball bearings 65. In the lowerendof the sleeve 59 is secured a bushing 66, through which the spindle shank'51 extends and rosioned to hold the roller 63 in'contact with the .cam flange 37 and to permit the cam spindle 51 and the'sleeve 59 to reciprocate in the sleeve 52 and the sleeve 58 respectively as the cam roller 68 rides up and down on the flange 37'. This action raisesuthe spindle shank 51 and the chuck 67 to permit the removal and the insertion of the tappets in position relative to the work seats 29 and the steady rests 31. It will be observed'in Fig. 4 that the work seats 29 are eccentrically positioned relative to the V-shaped openings in the steady rests 31 and 'to the spindles 59 and their chucks 67. Thus, the tappet heads are positioned eccentrically upon the work seats 29, which will throw the shank of the tappet into the V-shaped opening of the guide 31 during the rotation of the tappet and hold it firmly in contact with the steady rest.

The grinding wheel 70 is mounted to rotate in a vertical plane and-to pass downwardly i acrossthe edge of the tappet'hea-dj The periphery of the grinding wheel is radiused as shownv in Fig. 6 to correspond with the path of the tappets as they are moved across it by the revolution of the turret 20'.

In operation the shaft ll may be rotated to the left, whichwill cause the turret 20 to be rotated to'the right through the agency of the pinion 44 and the gear 48. This rotation of the shaft 11 to the left will also cause the spindles 50 to be rotated to the right through the agency of the gear 55. Thus the turret 20 is revolved to the right about the shaft 11 and relative to the grinding wheel 70, which rotates downwardly, and the spindles 50 are rotated to the right about their own axes. This causes the tappets to be rotated to the right upon the work seats 29, which, owing to their eccentric position relative to the tappet head and to the spindles and the steady rests 31, will cause the shanks of the tappets to be maintained in firm contact at all times with the V-shaped openings inthe steady rests and thus prevent any tendency to float or wobble on the work seats 29. The relation of the gearing l34446 which controls the speed of the turret 20 and the gearing 54-55 which controls the speed of the spindles 50 is such that the spindles are rotated at a relatively greater speed than they are revolved about the shaft 11. I

As the turret revolves the spindles to a point remote from the grinding wheel 70, the roller 63 rides upwardlyon the cam flange 37 and causes the spindles to lift to permit the removal and the insertion of tappets in position relative-to the work seats 29 and the steady rests 31, and as the revolution brings the spindles toward the grinding wheel the roller 63 will ride downwardly on the cam flange 37 and the spring 68 will force the spindle shank 51 downwardly to engage the chuck 67 with the end of the tappet shank to hold the tappets securely between the work seats 29 and the chuck. The spindles continue in this position until the tappets have passed across the grinding wheel 70, when they again rise, as described, to release the tappets. It is obvious that each spindle is provided with a separate arm and roller so that it may operate independently, as far as reciprocation is concerned, relative to the other spindles. It will be obvious that the only attendance necessary for this machine is that of insertion of the tappets as the turret revolves. The machine itself operates continuously and automatically to pass the tappets across the grinding wheel.

The work seats 29 and the steady rests 31 in their arrangement relative to the spindles automatically align the tappets and hold them steady during rotation about their own axes and eliminate the use of centers and the necessary adjustment thereof for each new work piece. It will also be obvious that the grinding wheel will not require periodic dressing by a separate tool, but that it will be continually dressed by the work which passes across it.

Formal changes may be made in the specific embodiment of the invention described without departing from the spirit or substance of the broad invention, the scope of which is commensurate with the appended claims.

What I claim is: i i

.1. A machine of the class described comprising a vertical rotatable shaft, a stationary sleeve surrounding said shaft, a turret rotatably mounted on said sleeve, a plurality of said turret, a pinion mounted upon said stationary sleeve in engagement with said internal gear and said shaft for transmitting a relatively slow rotative motion from said shaft to turret, a second pinion keyed to the upper end of said shaft and engaging each of said spindles and adapted to rotate the same at a relatively high speed, springs engaging each spindle and adapted to force the same in the direction of said work supports, a cam member on said stationary sleeve, and arms secured to said spindles and engaging said cam for raising said spindles relative to said work seats in the rotation of said turret.

2. A machine of the class described com,- prising a vertical rotatable shaft, a turret rotatable thereon, a plurality of rotatable spindles having work engaging chucks at their lower ends positioned in said turret adjacent the periphery thereof, work steady rests positioned beneath said chucks, and work supporting seats positioned beneath said steady rests, means for rotatively driving s'aid turret from said shaft at a relative- 1y lowspeed, means rotatively driving said spindles from said shaft at a relatively high speed and in a. direction corresponding to the rotation of the turret, a stationary cam, and means engaging each of said spindles and cooperating with said stationary cam for reciprocating said spindles relative to said work seats. f p

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a rotatable turret, reciprocating rotatable spring-urged chucks carried by said turret adjacent its periphery, work seats eccentrically located with reference to said chucks and cooperating therewith for supporting cylindrical articles, steady rests for centering said articles during their rotation, and means for rotating said turret at a relatively low speed and said chucks at a relatively high speed.

4:. In a machine of the class described, the combination of, a rotatable turret, reciprocable and rotatable chucks carried by said turret adjacent the periphery thereof, means for rotating said turret and said chucks at relatively low and high speedsrespectively, work 5 seats rotatable with said turret positioned eccentric to said chucks, cam and spring means for reciprocating said chucks, and steady rests positioned between said work seats and 5 said chucks for centering work held between said chucks and said work seats.

5. In a machine of the class described, th combination of a rotatable chuck adapted to engage the end of the stem of a valve tappet and rotate the same, a work seat for engaging the head of said tappet and supporting the same relative to saidchuck disposed in spaced relation to the end of said chuck and eccentric to the axis thereof, an open steady bearing for the stem of said tappet positioned between said seat and chuck and concentric to the axis of said chuck.

6. In a machine of the class described the combination of a rotatable chuck adapted to engage the end of the stem of a valve tappet and rotate the same, a work seat for engaging the head of saidtappet and supporting the same relative to said chuck disposed in spaced relation to the end of said chuck and eccentrio to the axis thereof, a steady bearing for the stem of said tappet positioned between said seat and chuck and concentric to the axis of said chuck.

7. In a machine for spinning headed cylindrical articles about their own axes, the combination of a steady rest adapted to afford lateral support for one side of the stem of a work piece, means on one side of said steady rest for rotating said work piece about its own axis, and a work seat adapted to friction ally engage the headed end of said work piece and positioned upon the opposite side of said steady rest from said rotating means and eccentric of the axis of said work piece for deflecting said work piece against said steady rest during rotation.

8. In a machine for spinning cylindrical work pieces about their own axes, the combination of means rotatably engaging one end of the work piece, a steady rest laterally supporting one side of the work piece, and aseat frictionally engaging the other end of said work piece at a point eccentric to the axis of rotation for deflecting said work piece against said steady rest during rotation.

JOSEPH H. HOERN. 

